


Two Can Play That Game

by angrysmileyface



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Loki learns Popculture, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 17:49:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13369974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angrysmileyface/pseuds/angrysmileyface
Summary: Eliza gets flown in by her uncle Tony Stark when she tries to run away from college one time too many, to be babysitted at the Avengers headquarters. She meets Loki, who is helping the Avengers stop Thanos from destroying the universe. The mischievous prince sees in Eliza an opportunity to piss off Stark, and possibly more, and plans to take it, but Eliza is as observant as him. The two begin a game of words, emotions and heartbreak neither of them were really prepared for.





	Two Can Play That Game

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so there isn't a lot of Loki action in this chapter but I want to take my time getting to know the both of them, especially Eliza, but I promise next chapter there will be more!

There was nothing she could do. The plane would soon land. The seatbelt light had flicked on a few moments ago, and the pressure was starting to build in her ears. Her sweaty hands gripped the sides of her seat. She didn’t like flying. Normally, the idea of having a nice holiday to spend after the stress of flying was over, was enough to calm her down, but now… There was simply nothing to look forward to. More babysitting, more pandering. Worse, in all probability. The brief hours of freedom she’d had at the airport (though somewhat clouded with the idea of having to fly looming on the horizon) had been bliss; especially because she knew they wouldn’t be repeated very soon.

Eliza Matthews, long lost niece of multi-millionaire and self-proclaimed superhero Tony Stark, she thought to herself with a slight mocking smirk. Well, ‘lost’ was a strong word. He’d known where she was; he’d even paid her tuition since her parents had died. That was, of course, until she’d decided to run away. She’d been under the impression that it was her full right to do so, as she was 18 years and (legally, at least) an adult. She’d been wrong. Or, wrong insofar as to assume people wouldn’t bend the rules for money. Not that her rights had been violated, strictly speaking. It was just that staying low was very, very hard when someone as powerful as Stark was looking for you. At first, Tony thought she’d stay put if he placed her under a guardian’s protection. But, Eliza thought with a wry smile, he should’ve looked at the genepool she came from a little more critically. After a few mildly successful attempts to escape (successful in that she managed to get away from her guardian, mild in that she always got caught because of Stark’s wide and superfluous connections), he’d decided to fly her over to the Avengers Base. Whoopteedoo. She could see the landscape from her window now, almost vertical as the plane was circling towards the landing strip. Her stomach lurched as she saw the wings wobble due to turbulence. The plane was small, as it was one of Tony’s private jets, which made it more comfortable but also made the turbulence all the more noticeable. They’d land soon.

Eliza plumped down on the bed and heaved a great, self-pitying sigh. Stark had given her a lecture in the car (or, rather, limo; she doubted the man could even _drive_ a car) about how she was throwing her life away. He’d even played the your-parents-wouldn’t-have-wanted-this-card, though he knew fuck-all about them. The argument had made her irrationally angry, but she’d bit her tongue and let it all wash over her. Alone, however, she let her anger out.  
“What the fuck does it matter what my parents would have wanted?” she snapped at the ceiling, “They’re dead, aren’t they?”  
She felt a slight burning sensation behind her eyes and a tightening at the back of her throat. She wanted to scream, she wanted to smash the expensive designer furniture the room was furnished with, but before she could act on these or any other impulses, the door slid open. She sprung up from the bed and glared at the doorframe, ready to fight whoever dared enter her room. She could do with throwing a nice scene.  
A tall, slender man walked in, with long, black hair and a pale, almost white skin. He looked around her room curiously. Eliza immediately tried to calm herself. After his little lecture, Stark had given her a warning: stay out of the way of Loki Laufeysson. She hadn’t thought that such a difficult request at the time, since she believed he’d be locked up, or at least in a restricted area, or at least not able to _enter her fucking room at his leisure_. She recognized him from T.V. from a while back. His eyes roamed the bedroom before they met hers.  
“Who were you talking to?” he asked.  
Eliza bit back a snarky remark, going for the safer option: “No one.”  
Loki smirked.  
“I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” he said, taking a step towards her, “One of Stark’s new recruits, I presume?”  
“Not exactly,” she answered before she could stop herself. It might have been the best policy to let him believe she had some kind of powers.  
“I’m Loki.” He held out a hand. Eliza took it with a firm hand like her father taught her, and said: “Eliza.”  
Loki was just about to say something when the door slid open again and Tony hurried in, looking worried. His eyes shot from Loki to Eliza in a panic-y sort of way.  
“Anything the matter, Stark?” Loki asked dryly. Stark huffed indignantly.  
“How the hell did you get in here?” he demanded. Loki quirked an eyebrow and said: “I was not aware I wasn’t allowed to roam the base at my leisure.”  
“I don’t think that includes bursting into my bedroom without permission,” Eliza interjected before her uncle could say anything. She could feel Stark’s warning look on her.  
“Well then,” the Jotun said, looking at her in amusement, “I’ll be sure to get your permission next time.”  
Eliza kept herself from snorting; she could practically _hear_ Tony’s blood boiling. Before the man had mastered himself enough to say anything in response, Loki had already left the room with a triumphant grin on his face. The downside of this, in Eliza’s opinion, perfect exit, was that she was now alone with her angry uncle. What was worse, was that she couldn’t keep her face straight.  
“What are you smiling at?” he fumed, “Don’t you know that’s one of the most dangerous men –”  
“I full well realize that. I didn’t invite him here,” she replied calmly.  
“Don’t you realize that – that he was –” Stark didn’t seem able to say the word. Eliza helped him.  
“Flirting with me?”  
“Yes, and –”  
“And _you_ must realize that he only did it to piss you off?”  
Stark snapped his mouth shut and blinked sheepishly.  
“Which he did most effectively, I must say,” Eliza concluded cynically.  
“Just – Stay out of his way, all right?”  
“All right, all right,” she said exasperated, “God, if you didn’t want me running into him, why don’t you lock him up?”  
Stark sighed. “It was one of his conditions for helping us. I didn’t want to budge, but we need the guy.”  
He walked towards the door. “By the way, dinner’s at seven.”  
The door slid open and closed behind him. Eliza sat back down on the bed with a sigh. At least it wasn’t going to be boring here. She had a feeling she’d see Loki more often than her uncle was hoping for. The guy clearly enjoyed pissing Stark off and she must seem the perfect tool to him to reach this goal. It could be interesting. She knew the guy was regarded as cunning and brilliant, but most guys who regarded themselves as such always assumed others weren’t. She’d used that more than once to her advantage. But those guys weren’t very strong demigods who had no scruples killing ‘mortals’. The real danger was Loki catching her in a bad mood, rather than the other way around. Most people had trouble with thinking of snappy comebacks in the moment, but she had trouble with not saying them when she thought of them. She stood up, abandoning this train of thought, and started to unpack her bags. She wanted to change before dinner. She’d been wearing these clothes for far too long.

Eliza had let her bedroom a quarter to seven, so she could take her time finding the dining area. None the less, she was somewhat late to the party. Most of the Avengers already sat around the table.  
“Ah, there you are!” her uncle called. He was sitting next to a redhead, with whom he’d seemed to be in a heated discussion. Eliza approached the dining table. Only two seats were left: one next to Stark, the other in between a man who she recognized to be Thor and a teenage boy, perhaps a few years younger than her, whom she didn’t know. The choice was easily made, so she sat down next to the boy, who introduced himself as ‘Peter’. It was only then that she realized she was seated opposite Loki, whose green eyes were already twinkling with amusement when she met them. Peter and her exchanged some small talk, before dinner was served. A huge ham was set on the table, right in front of her, together with other dishes like potatoes, mashed and baked, peas and carrots, gravy etc.  
“A bit much, but I thought a fancy dinner might be a nice way to welcome you,” Stark said looking at her with a smile. Eliza turned her eyes to the ham with a sinking feeling in her stomach. The smell made her feel queasy. She could see the fat oozing from it.  
“What’s wrong?” asked her uncle, his smile falling. Eliza gulped and said in a small voice: “I’m a vegetarian.”  
“Oh,” was his reply. There was an awkward shuffle around the table. Before anything else could be said, Thor asked (in a not-so-subtle voice): “What does that mean?”  
His adopted brother on the other side of the table subtly rolled his eyes.  
“It means I don’t eat meat,” Eliza answered, nodding toward the huge ham.  
“But why ever not, Lady Eliza?” bellowed the great blonde. Eliza pinched the bridge of her nose. She heard a soft chuckle opposite her.   
“Look, let’s  not get into the political and ethical arguments just now. I’ll just order some falafel or something.”  
“But… but…” Stark stammered. He looked like a little boy whose party was ruined.  
“It’s okay,” she assured him, “really. You didn’t know.”  
“You can just tell the AI to order it for you,” the redhead next to Stark told her.  
“Right. Er… How do I do that?”  
The redhead tilted her head slightly upward and called out: “FRIDAY, where’s the nearest takeout with vegetarian options?”  
To Eliza’s amazement, a disembodied female voice answered: “There’s a Domino’s Pizza 5 miles from here.”  
Eliza ordered a pizza Caprese, which arrived only a few minutes later. She enjoyed her pizza while the rest enjoyed the fancy dinner meant to welcome her. If this was any indication of how things were gonna go these next months, then Eliza had some trials and tribulations ahead of her, she mused silently.


End file.
